Earlier today, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) launched the Department of Statistics and Data Science (SDS), before hosting the Symposium of Data Science. SUSTech President Chen Shiyi, Vice President Tang Tao and Acting Vice President Zhang Dongxiao all attended the SDS launch. They were joined by academicians, fellows, experts and scholars from top universities across China and around the world. Vice President Tang Tao presided over the launch.

President Chen Shiyi

President Chen Shiyi congratulated SDS on their inauguration and fully affirmed their preparatory work. SDS is essential to SUSTech, and its launch will promote the development of the national big-data strategy in high-level science and engineering universities. SDS will also adapt to China’s economic and social development, to sate its demands for high-level talents who understand statistical and data science innovation theories and methods. Shenzhen is an innovative city with top enterprises such as Huawei and Tencent. SUSTech will make full use of industry-university research to develop its talent pipeline in globally strategic fields such as big data and artificial intelligence. The future leaders developed by SUSTech will master theories and methods of statistics and data science, driving more opportunities to further develop the University.

Professor Shao Qiman

SDS was set up on April 10th with its inaugural leader as Professor Shao Qiman and will be based in the College of Science.  Its academic advisory committee will be made up of eight academicians, fellows and professors from mainland China and around the world.

Professor Shao Qiman, SDS Head, spoke on behalf of the Department. He talked about its initial work and thanked everyone for their support. He specifically noted the congratulatory letters that had been received from more than thirty-five universities and institutions from around mainland China. Shao Qiman said that SDS will always maintain the goals of SUSTech and explore the cutting-edge of international statistics and data science. SDS would focus on important issues in natural sciences, engineering technology, biomedical sciences and the social economy. It hopes to achieve innovative breakthroughs and apply theoretically critical accomplishments. Its ultimate goal is to become a high-level talent base for cultivating statisticians and data scientists.

Dean Yang Xueming

Dean Yang Xueming of the College of Science said that the Department of Statistics and Data Science would enrich the development framework and innovative ideas of the College of Science. It would also provide new opportunities for development and technological advancement for the financial economy of China, especially across the Greater Bay Area.

Academician Ma Zhiming and Academician Xu Zongben

At the symposium that followed the launch, Academician Ma Zhiming (Institute of Mathematics and Systems Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Academician Xu Zongben (Xi’an Jiaotong University) delivered keynote speeches. Ma Zhiming spoke about “Probability and Statistics Methods for Big Data Analysis,” while Xu Zongben talked on “Data Science and Its Development Strategy.” Their keynote speeches reflect on the importance of data science and data scientists for SUSTech and the strategic emerging industries in the Greater Bay Area.

Symposium on the development of statistics and data science disciplines

The symposium continued into the afternoon with a discussion of the development of the statistics and data science discipline. Participants examined topics such as curriculum development of statistical and data science, data science and big data technology professional settings, and school-enterprise cooperation methods. Experts and scholars from statistics found inspiration in innovative ideas and conferred on many unique opportunities that were presented by the different perspectives offered. They worked together to promote the further development of statistics and data science as a key discipline of high-level universities in Guangdong Province and across the Greater Bay Area.